Rampant mortgage fraud used by gangs to buy up homes around NL

Between 6,000 and 11,000 homes in the Netherlands have been bought with forged documents in recent years, according to an unpublished report on mortgage fraud.

The report, by the Financial Expertise Centre (FEC), a partnership of regulators and law enforcement agencies, has been with the justice ministry for more than six months, sources told broadcaster NOS. It was due to be completed in March.

According to NOS, the report says criminal groups use mortgage fraud to acquire properties which they then use for other illegal activities.

Fraudsters forge documents such as pay slips, employer statements, annual accounts and tax returns to obtain mortgages. MPs, the Dutch banking association NVB and the notaries’ professional body KNB have raised concerns about the issue for several years. The previous cabinet commissioned the FEC to investigate.

NVB chair Medy van der Laan told a parliamentary hearing on organised crime on Wednesday that the homes are used for money laundering, illegal renting, labour exploitation and drug crime. “Mortgage fraud is happening more and more,” she said, adding that it undermines the quality of life in neighbourhoods.

Banks and notaries want to be able to check applicants’ income data with the tax office. “We respect all the sensitivities around privacy. We just want to check whether the information we have been given is correct,” Van der Laan said.

Left-wing Pro MP Hanneke Mutluer has called for the report and its recommendations to be sent to parliament as soon as possible. MPs are due to debate the issue next week.

In 2024, the Financieele Dagblad reported that a criminal network had used forged mortgage papers to buy hundreds of homes in the Amsterdam area between 2018 and 2023. The properties were used to store cash and drugs and to house foreign workers.

Last October, Amsterdam police arrested a Zaandam real estate agent and seven others suspected of falsifying mortgage papers for criminals. Police said at the time that mortgage fraud was rampant.

They have long called for banks to be allowed to check applicants’ income against tax office data.